Champions League Twenty20
The Champions League Twenty20, also referred to as the CLT20, was an annual international Twenty20 Cricket competition played between the top domestic teams from major cricketing nations. The competition was launched in 2008 with the first edition held in October 2009.[1] It was jointly owned by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa,[2] and was chaired by N. Srinivasan, who was also the chairman of the ICC. Sundar Raman was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the CLT20 as well as the IPL.[3][4]
Countries | Worldwide
|
---|---|
Format | Twenty20 |
First edition | 2008 |
Latest edition | 2014 |
Tournament format | Round-robin and knockout |
Number of teams | 12 (group stage) 10 (total) 32 (next) |
Most successful |
|
Most runs | Suresh Raina (842) |
Most wickets | Sunil Narine (39) |
TV | STAR Sports |
Website | clt20.com |
The tournament was held between September and October for a period of two to three weeks in either India or South Africa. It had a total prize pool of US$6 million, with the winning team receiving $2.5 million, the highest for a club cricket tournament in history.[5] The format involved the best teams from the premier Twenty20 competitions of eight Test-playing nations, favouring the teams from India, Australia and South Africa.[6]
Owing to poor viewership, lack of audience interest, unstable sponsorships and lack of other necessary factors, the three founding cricket boards announced on 15 July 2015 that the tournament would be scrapped, thus the 2014 Champions League Twenty20 was the last series of the tournament.[7]
History
Background
Twenty20 cricket was launched by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003 with the Twenty20 Cup as a result of a long-term decline in the popularity of county championship and domestic limited-overs cricket. By shortening matches to around three hours, the format was designed to attract a younger crowd and boost attendances. Cricketing nations began adopting the format and creating domestic Twenty20 competitions.
This was followed by the creation of international Twenty20 tournaments. The International 20:20 Club Championship was an early attempt at an international Twenty20 club tournament. It was held in 2005 and featured domestic Twenty20 teams from three countries. Twenty20 International, the form of Twenty20 played between national cricket teams, began in February 2005 and the ICC World Twenty20, the Twenty20 version of the Cricket World Cup, was first held in September 2007.
Domestic Twenty20 competitions began with England's Twenty20 Cup in 2003. By 2006, most of the major cricketing nations had created their own domestic Twenty20 competitions. However, all these competitions had a style similar to their existing first-class and List A cricket counterparts, with most even using the same teams. In 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched and achieved revolutionary success and popularity.[8] The IPL has top cricketers and coaches from around the world; a franchise system where the eight teams auctioned for a combined $723 million, several of which are owned by Bollywood superstars; loyal team support from fans, and; large support from sponsorship.[9]
Creation
Immediately after the end of the first IPL season, the cricket authorities in India, Australia and South Africa entered into discussions to create a new international club competition and capitalise on this success.[1] The plans for the creation of the Champions League Twenty20 were first announced on 13 September 2007. The inaugural edition was to be held in October 2008, run by the cricket boards of India, England, Australia and South Africa, and featuring two teams from each country.[10][11]
However, the tournament encountered problems when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns 50% of the tournament, decided to bar players from the Indian Cricket League (ICL; a league unsanctioned by the BCCI and other cricket boards as a result) from participating.[12] England featured ICL players in many of their teams, including their domestic tournament's runners-up the Kent Spitfires. The BCCI decided to replace Kent's slot with a team from Pakistan and was prepared to also replace the remaining England team. In response, ECB devised plans for their own Champions League.[13][14] ECB eventually agreed to the terms from the BCCI. The CLT20 was founded by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa with one team from England and $6 million in prize money.[2][15]
Following this, another problem arose with the International Cricket Council over the tournament dates, which clashed with the ICC Champions Trophy, and the CLT20 was moved to December 2008. Plans were also made for the second edition to be held in late 2009 with 12 teams.[16] In November 2008, the tournament was again put in jeopardy when Mumbai suffered terrorist attacks and the organisers attempted to reschedule again to early 2009. In December 2008, it was finally pushed to September 2009, when it was successfully held as per the plans for the 2009 edition.[17][18]
Reception and impact
The tournament received strong support from its creation. Its $6 million prize money pool was described by the organisers as "the single largest prize money pool in any cricket tournament so far."[5] ESPN Star Sports paid $900 million for the global broadcasting rights to every match for 10 years,[19][20] a deal comparable to when Sony Entertainment Television and World Sport Group purchased the rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for $1.026 billion for ten years.[21] Ahead of the 2009 edition, Bharti Airtel bought the title sponsorship rights for three years for reportedly $40 million.[22]
Despite this, the inaugural 2009 edition, held in India, was not highly received by its targeted Indian audience, who only showed interest for the IPL teams. This was demonstrated by low attendance and television ratings. According to TAM Media Research, it drew an average television ratings point of 1.06, much lower than the 4.1 achieved by the 2009 Indian Premier League. Low viewership led to Bharti Airtel ending its five-year sponsorship deal after two years.[23] Nokia signed a four-year deal to replace Bharti Airtel as the title sponsor but also withdrew after one year.[24] Karbonn Mobiles replaced Nokia in 2012.[25] From 2014 onwards Oppo bagged the title sponsorship rights.
Several attempts were made at improving reception. The marketing campaign for 2010 included television commercials featuring Bollywood stars while the 2011 edition had Shahrukh Khan as brand ambassador and an opening ceremony featuring international hip-hop artists.[26][27][28] The ratings for the 2010 edition, held in South Africa, improved to 1.45. This is attributed to better performances by the IPL teams: the final, won by the Chennai Super Kings, drew an all-India rating of 3.30 while matches with the Mumbai Indians had an average rating of 2.11.[29] The tournament format was changed in 2011 to introduce a three-day qualifying stage which allowed the inclusion of a fourth IPL team and weaker teams to be eliminated early.[28] The 2011 edition saw the average rating increase to 1.64 but depended on IPL teams featuring in both semi-finals and the final.[30]
Despite low viewership, the tournament succeeded in providing a global stage and significant financial support for low-profile teams.[28][31] Players have also capitalised on the opportunity to further their careers in Twenty20 cricket. Kieron Pollard helped Trinidad and Tobago finish runners-up in the 2009 edition, including an innings where he scored 54 runs off 18 balls.[32] This earned him an IPL contract at the 2009 IPL players auction where he was sold for an undisclosed amount after attracting the maximum possible bid of $750,000.[33] Sunil Narine and Kevon Cooper also earned IPL contracts after competing for Trinidad and Tobago in the 2011 edition. Previously relatively unknown, Narine and Cooper were sold for $700,000 and $50,000 respectively at the 2012 IPL auction and made immediate impacts to their teams.[34][35] In particular, Narine helped his team win the 2012 Indian Premier League and was named Player of the Tournament.[36][37] Similarly, in the 2012 edition, Chris Morris helped Highveld Lions to reach the final and in return it earned him an IPL contract at the 2013 IPL auction where he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for US$625,000, 51 times his base price.
Format
Although each edition held had a different format and had a different number of participating teams, each had a group stage and a two-round knockout stage. A qualifying stage was introduced in 2011, reducing direct entrants to only teams from India, South Africa and Australia. Each team (including qualifying stage participants) receives a participation fee of $500,000.[38] Every edition had a total prize money of $6 million. Since 2010, it had been distributed as follows:[39]
- $2.5 million – Winners
- $1.3 million – Runners-up
- $500,000 – 2nd and 3rd Runners-up
- $200,000 – Teams eliminated in the group stage
Before the commencement of the tournament, each team names a squad of 15 players. All players must be contracted by the team for their domestic tournament. Mirroring the IPL rule, each team can field a maximum of four international players. Most of the other tournaments have a lower limit on both contracted international players and how many can play in their matches. In 2011, an exception to the rule was made for the Mumbai Indians who, due to players being unavailable, had a squad of seven Indian players and would have been unable to put together a playing team of eleven players should another be injured. They were allowed to field five international players.[40] That year, Mumbai won the CLT20.[41]
Players
Should a player be a part of more than one qualified team, he can play for his "home" team (the team from the country he is eligible to represent in international cricket) without consequence. If he plays for any other team, that team must pay the home team a compensation fee ($150,000 from 2011).Indian Premier League teams have been the most popular choice for these players.[42] In the 2010 edition, controversy arose when an IPL team contractually forced three players to play for them by utilising a clause in the rules of the IPL. The clause states that the IPL teams have first rights over their players should they qualify with another team.[43][44]
The choice of the players and the nature of the rules are common subjects of debate with every edition. It continued to cause confusion until 2013 when it was clarified that the CLT20 rules state the players are free to choose their team. However, for a player named in an IPL team's squad, he would have to forego 20% of his salary to choose another team.[45] The IPL offers the most lucrative salaries and is the only tournament to have a clause relating to the CLT20 in its contracts. As a result, players are unlikely to choose against their IPL teams. For non-IPL teams wanting to keep their players, not only would they be forfeiting the compensation fee, some have felt the need to offer their players compensation in an attempt to sway their decision.[46]
The only player to have chosen another team over his IPL team was Kumar Sangakkara in 2013.[47] His team, the Kandurata Maroons, lost all their matches and did not advance beyond the qualifying stage.[48] This incentive was lessened when IPL contracts were changed in 2014 to not have player salaries cover participation in the CLT20. A player will instead receive an additional 10% of his IPL salary for representing his IPL team in the CLT20.[49]
Tournament | First prize |
---|---|
Indian Premier League | US$ 3,000,000[50] |
Champions League Twenty20 | |
Pakistan Super League | US$ 600,000[51] |
Friends Life t20 | US$ 250,000[52] |
Caribbean Premier League | US$ 250,000[53] |
Sri Lanka Premier League | US$ 100,000[54] |
Caribbean Twenty20 | US$ 62,500[55] |
Participation
Tournament | Teams |
---|---|
Direct entrants | |
Indian Premier League | 3 |
Big Bash League | 2 |
Ram Slam T20 Challenge | 2 |
Caribbean Premier League | 1 |
Qualifying stage entrants | |
HRV Cup | 1 |
National Twenty20 Cup | 1 |
Sri Lanka Premier League | 1 |
Indian Premier League | 1 |
The participating teams are from the top cricketing nations and determined by the premier Twenty20 tournaments of those nations. Each edition has featured teams from India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the West Indies and Sri Lanka. England have been in three editions but refused further participation after 2012 as their domestic season clashed with the tournament's dates.[56][57] Pakistan has not been invited to participate in the tournament until 2012 due to the hostility between India and Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.[58]
As the tournament is mainly targeted at the Indian audience, all editions have featured more teams from India than any other country. From 2011, four Indian teams competed while other countries had two teams at most.[59] India is the first choice for hosting the tournament.
While the tournament format remained almost unchanged, the qualification tournaments have changed to include more overseas players and create stronger teams. The Caribbean Twenty20 was created in the West Indies after their representative finished runners-up in the 2009 edition.[60] It was later expanded to become the Caribbean Premier League in 2013. Australia and Sri Lanka have expanded their tournaments to create the Big Bash League in 2011 and the Sri Lanka Premier League in 2012 respectively.[61][62]
Participation in the tournament is highly desired. Since the Bangladesh Premier League was created in 2012, its organisers had hoped for their teams to be included in the tournament.[63] A Bangladeshi team has yet to participate in the CLT20. The Dhaka Gladiators, winners of the 2013 BPL, expressed their disappointment after being excluded in 2013 despite the efforts made by their management.[64]
Venue
It was originally intended for the host of the tournament to be rotated between the countries of the three shareholders: India, South Africa and Australia. The broadcasting agreement also demands that at least five of the first ten editions are to be held in India.[65] However, Australia has yet to be considered due to its unsuitable weather in September and due to its time zone being undesirable for the broadcaster. South Africa first hosted in 2010 but India has since been the first preference for hosting. South Africa was only chosen to host in 2012 when situations made it infeasible for India to host.[66]
Tournament summary
Season summary
Source: Cricinfo[77]
Statistics and records
As of the 2012 edition, 30 teams have competed in 103 matches.[78] Individual players have appeared in as many as four editions and 20 matches.[79] Four players have scored centuries,[80] 16 players have taken four wickets in an innings and three players have taken five wickets in an innings.[81][82] One player has taken a hat-trick.[83]
Titles and performance
The table below provides an overview of the performances of teams over past editions of the Champions League Twenty20.
Note:
- Teams do not participate
- Defunct Teams (no longer exists or play twenty20)
- The table is sorted based on the number of titles, then best performance (newest to oldest), number of appearances, and then by alphabetical order. League and group stages are considered equivalent
- Apart from the champions, all other performances are taken on the latest performance basis
Source: Cricinfo[84] Last updated: 1 October 2014
Unqualified teams
Teams participated in Champions League Twenty20 but not qualified to Group stage / League stage of the tournament.
Team | Span | Appearances | Best performance |
---|---|---|---|
Southern Express | 2014 - 2014 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2014) |
Faisalabad Wolves | 2013 - 2013 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2013) |
Kandurata Maroons | 2013 - 2013 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2013) |
Hampshire | 2012 - 2012 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2012) |
Sialkot Stallions | 2012 - 2012 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2012) |
Uva Next | 2012 - 2012 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2012) |
Leicestershire Foxes | 2011 - 2011 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2011) |
Ruhuna Royals | 2011 - 2011 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2011) |
Note:
- Teams do not participate
- Defunct Teams (no longer exists or play twenty20)
- The table is sorted based on the number of appearances, then latest year of best result, and then by alphabetical order
Source: Cricinfo[84]
Last updated: 14 September 2014
Media coverage
Country | Broadcaster(s) | Ref |
---|---|---|
Arab World | Satellite: ART CricOne (2009–2018) | [85] |
Australia | Free-to-air: One/Network Ten (2009–2010, 2013) Cable/satellite (pay): Fox Sports (2011–2012) |
[86] |
Bangladesh | Cable/satellite (pay): STAR Cricket (2009–2018) | [19] |
Bhutan | Cable/satellite (pay): Maasranga TV (2009–2018) | [19] |
Canada | Cable/satellite (pay): Sportsnet One (finals), Sportsnet World | [87] |
China | Cable/satellite (pay): ESPN | [88] |
Europe | Cable/satellite (pay): Eurosport 2 | [89] |
Hong Kong | Cable/satellite (pay): STAR Cricket (2009–2018) | [19] |
India | Cable/satellite (pay): STAR Sports 1 (2009–2018) | [19] |
Indonesia | TPI/MNCTV (2009–2018) | [90] |
Malaysia | Satellite (pay): Astro | |
Maldives | Cable/satellite (pay): STAR Cricket (2009–2018) | [19] |
Nepal | Cable/satellite (pay): STAR Cricket (2009–2018) | [19] |
New Zealand | Cable/satellite (pay): Sky Sport | |
Pakistan | Cable/satellite (pay): PTV Sports, TEN Sports (2009–2018) | [19] |
Singapore | Cable/satellite (pay): STAR Cricket (2009–2018) | [19] |
South Africa | SuperSport 2009–2018 | |
Sri Lanka | Cable/satellite (pay): STAR Cricket (2009–2018) | [19] |
United Kingdom | Cable/satellite (pay): British Eurosport (2009–2016) | [91][92] |
United States | Internet (pay): ESPN3 (2012–2015) Internet: Willow Cricket (2009–2011) |
|
West Indies | Cable/satellite (pay): ESPN (2010–2015) | [93] |
References
- "Cricket Champions League unveiled". BBC Sport. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- "Middlesex complete Champions League line-up". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Tagore, Vijay (20 September 2013). "Tainted player allowed to play in CL T20". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- "What a Night!". Cricket South Africa. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- "T20 Champions League winners to get USD 2.5 million". The Indian Express. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Viswanathan, Satish (26 June 2012). "CLT20's move to South Africa may help generate interest". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- "Champions League T20 discontinued". ESPN. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- Bohse, Mihir (2 June 2008). "IPL leading cricket's revolution". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- "Cricinfo – Big business and Bollywood grab stakes in IPL". ESPNcricinfo. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
- Alter, Jamie (13 September 2007). "International Twenty20 league launched". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "Million-dollar Twenty20 Champions League announced". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "ICL policy could cost England - BCCI". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Shankar, Ajay (27 July 2008). "Champions League to be held in India". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Gollapudi, Nagraj (30 July 2008). "Champions Twenty20 League formally launched". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "India, Australia and South Africa agree Champions League tournament". The Telegraph. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "2009 Champions League scheduled for September-October". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "Champions League faces rescheduling headache". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "Champions League pushed back to October 2009". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- "Champions League rights sell for $900 million". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Turbervill, Huw (11 September 2008). "ESPN Star pay $1 billion for Twenty20 Champions League". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- "India cricket chiefs sell rights to Sony and World Sport Group". The Australian. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Engineer, Tariq (3 August 2011). "Airtel pulls out as Champions League title sponsor". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- "Twenty20 Champions League loses title sponsor AirTel". Herald Sun. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Mitter, Sohini (29 August 2011). "Sponsors cold to Champions League". The Financial Times. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Engineer, Tariq (7 August 2012). "CLT20 signs new sponsorship deal". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- "Shah Rukh to be face of Champions League T20". The Times of India. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Engineer, Tariq (5 September 2010). "Under the shadow of the IPL". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Ravindran, Siddarth (22 September 2011). "A litmus test for the CLT20". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Engineer, Tariq (7 October 2010). "Big jump in CLT20 television ratings". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- "No dramatic change in Champions League T20 ratings". 20 October 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- "Finals won't help Tykes finances". Sky Sports. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- "The IPL's most wanted". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- "Kieron Pollard, Shane Bond attract maximum bids". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- "Narine lands US$.7m IPL contract with Knight Riders". Guardian Media. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Engineer, Tariq (10 April 2012). "Cooper's fairytale journey". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Seepersad, Roger (28 May 2012). "Minister to negotiate with T&T's IPL players". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- "Narine won't fade like Mendis, says T&T coach". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- Ali, Qaiser Mohammad (26 September 2011). "BCCI cautious about CLT20 payments". India Today. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- "Champions League 2011 ready reckoner". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- "MI can play 5 foreigners". The Telegraph. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- Monga, Sidharth (9 October 2011). "Mumbai Indians complete dream run with title". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- "Players choose IPL franchises for Champions League". ESPNcricinfo. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- "Kallis obligated to play for Bangalore - Warriors chief". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 15 August 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- Gollapudi, Nagraj (27 July 2012). "No decision yet on Pollard, Bravo and Narine". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- Fernando, Andrew Fidel; Thawfeeq, Saadi (26 August 2013). "Sangakkara to choose between Kandurata and Sunrisers". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- Gollapudi, Nagraj (27 July 2012). "No decision yet on Pollard, Bravo and Narine". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- Fernando, Andrew Fidel (29 August 2013). "Sangakkara slams SLC while choosing Kandurata". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- Binoy, George (20 September 2013). "Misbah delivers consolation win for Faisalabad". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- "IPL franchises allowed to retain up to five players". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- Live Match: IPL 2011 - MI vs RCB, Match 54 - ROW (Television production). Indiatimes. 2011. Event occurs at 1:31. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- "Pakistan Super League". 19 June 2017. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) - "Prize Money for Matches and Competitions Under the Control of the ECB – 2011" (PDF) (PDF). ECB. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- "Big money up for grabs from the "biggest party in sport" with reveal of the Limacol CPL T20 prize pot". Caribbean Premier League. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- FINAL : Uva Next Vs Nagenahira Nagas ( 31st August 2012 ) - Premadasa, Colombo. YouTube. 31 August 2012. Event occurs at 4:57:08. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- "Higher prize money in Caribbean T20". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- "No English counties in Champions League Twenty20". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Dobell, George (27 September 2012). "Counties to shun Champions League". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- Farooq, Umar (12 May 2012). "India's move step towards reviving bilateral ties - PCB". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- "Big guns look to set stage ablaze". Deccan Herald. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "WICB unveils domestic T20 tournament". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- "KFC T20 Big Bash League unveiled". Cricket Australia. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Engineer, Tariq (7 May 2012). "Sri Lanka Premier League set for August this year". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Engineer, Tariq (28 December 2012). "Bangladesh Premier League to begin on 9 February". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Isam, Mohammad (12 April 2013). "Dhaka Gladiators upset at being left out of CLT20". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- Moonda, Firdose (28 June 2012). "CSA wary of administrative errors at CLT20 - Faul". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- Press Trust of India (31 May 2012). "CLT20 likely to be shifted to South Africa". MiD DAY. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- "Champions Twenty20 League 2008 Fixtures". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- "Champions League expanded from eight to 12 teams". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- "Champions League: Brett Lee inspires New South Wales to victory over Trinidad". The Telegraph. 23 October 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- "2010 Champions League T20 to have new format". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
- "India's Chennai Super Kings win Champions League final". BBC. 26 September 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- "Six-team qualifier for Champions League". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- Datta, Dwaipayan (9 October 2011). "MI vs RCB: Mumbai Indians beat Bangalore to win 2011 Champions League Twenty20". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- "CLT20 from 9–28 October, fourth IPL team gets direct entry". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- "Harbhajan gives Mumbai the double". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- "Raina century leads CSK to title". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- "Series results". ESPNcricinfo. 14 April 2014.
- "Records / Champions League Twenty20 / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- "Champions League Twenty20 / Records / Most matches". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- "Champions League Twenty20 / Records / List of hundreds". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- "Records / Champions League Twenty20 / List of four-wickets-in-an-innings (and over)". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- "Champions League Twenty20 / Records / List of five-wickets-in-an-innings". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- Talya, Siddhartha (22 September 2010). "Wayamba thrash Central Districts for consolation win". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- "Series results". ESPNcricinfo. 30 May 2014.
- "TV Channel broadcasting clt20 2012". Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- Long, Michael (22 September 2011). "Fox Sports to broadcast Nokia Champions League Twenty20". SportsPro. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- "Champions League T20 - 2014 News, Updates, etc". Retrieved 2019-20-20. Check date values in:
|access-date=
(help) - "ESPN STAR Sports to Broadcast Inaugural Bangladesh Premier League". Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- "Eurosport to air Champions League in UK, Europe". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- "Which TV Channels will Broadcast CLT20 2013-Champions League". Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- Fraser, Adam (14 September 2009). "Eurosport to screen Champions League Twenty20". SportsPro. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- "Eurosport UK renews CLT20 cricket deal". Media 247. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- Connolly, Eoin (27 June 2012). "ESPN retains ICC rights in the Caribbean". SportsPro. Retrieved 27 June 2012.